CouriersPlease & Border Express Pay Rates 2026: Driver, Depot & Warehouse Pay
What CouriersPlease & Border Express workers should be paid in 2026 — the Road Transport and Distribution Award floor by classification, casual loading, penalties, and where the CouriersPlease & Border Express enterprise agreements sit.
Leave & Entitlements Specialist · JD, Monash University — Admitted in Victoria (non-practising)
Who covers CouriersPlease & Border Express workers — award or agreement?
CouriersPlease and Border Express are the parcel and freight businesses of Freight Management Holdings, which also owns eFM logistics. CouriersPlease runs a franchised courier network with a mostly contractor delivery fleet; Border Express runs road freight with employed drivers, dock and depot staff.
Employed drivers and depot staff sit on the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 and warehouse staff on the Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 — both tabled below — with Border Express enterprise agreements at various depots. CouriersPlease franchisee-couriers are contractors, so the award does not apply to them.
The federal awards relevant to CouriersPlease & Border Express roles:
- Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (MA000038)
- Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 (MA000084)
Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Freight Management Holdings Pty. Ltd. declared 2,532 employees across 7 reporting entities — 21.1% casual and 27.3% women, with 384 in management roles. Source: WGEA 2025 Public Data File, data.gov.au (CC-BY 3.0 AU).
Road transport award floor (1 July 2026)
Drivers sit on the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 (MA000038). The grade follows the biggest vehicle combination you're required to drive:
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| Transport Worker Grade 1 (courier/van, light rigid) | $26.87/hr | $33.59/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 2 (rigid over 4.5t, forklift) | $27.51/hr | $34.39/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 3 (heavy rigid) | $27.83/hr | $34.79/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 4 (semi-trailer/heavy combination) | $28.32/hr | $35.40/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 5 (B-double) | $28.67/hr | $35.84/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 6 (road train) | $29.00/hr | $36.25/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 7 (double road train / specialist) | $29.42/hr | $36.78/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 8 | $30.28/hr | $37.85/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 9 | $30.78/hr | $38.48/hr |
| Transport Worker Grade 10 | $31.55/hr | $39.44/hr |
If you regularly drive a bigger combination than your grade pays for, that is a classification underpayment. Overtime, night and weekend loadings apply on top.
Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.
Storage and warehouse award floor (1 July 2026)
Warehouse and distribution-centre staff sit on the Storage Services and Wholesale Award 2020 (MA000084):
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (incl. 25%) |
|---|---|---|
| Storeworker grade 1 (on commencement) | $27.08/hr | $33.85/hr |
| Storeworker grade 1 (after 3 months) | $27.41/hr | $34.26/hr |
| Storeworker grade 1 (after 12 months) | $27.72/hr | $34.65/hr |
| Storeworker grade 2 (forklift, RF picking) | $27.97/hr | $34.96/hr |
| Storeworker grade 3 (leading hand, inventory control) | $28.77/hr | $35.96/hr |
| Storeworker grade 4 (supervisor) | $29.61/hr | $37.01/hr |
Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.
The CouriersPlease & Border Express enterprise agreements
Enterprise agreements set rates above the award, with their own classification structures and allowances. Current CouriersPlease & Border Express agreements in our corpus (4 in total):
- Border Express Pty Ltd Transport Employees and TWU Sydney, Newcastle and Central Coast Site Agreement 2024 — approved May 2024, nominal expiry 4 December 2026.
- Border Express Pty Ltd Transport Employees Albury Enterprise Agreement 2023 — approved June 2023, nominal expiry 13 August 2026.
- Border Express Pty Ltd Transport Employees ACT Enterprise Agreement 2023 — approved June 2023, nominal expiry 9 July 2026.
- Border Express Pty Ltd Transport Employees Western Australia Enterprise Agreement 2023 — approved June 2023, nominal expiry 14 June 2026.
We don't reproduce agreement dollar figures here — the agreement covering your site, state and stream is the document to read. Find your agreement, then your classification, then your pay point, and compare it with your payslip. The award tables on this page are the floor every one of these agreements must beat.
Common transport pay issues at CouriersPlease & Border Express
The patterns worth checking on a CouriersPlease & Border Express payslip:
- Driving a bigger combination than your grade pays for — the grade follows the vehicle you're required to drive.
- Unpaid loading, waiting and pre-start time.
- Overtime and night loadings absorbed into a flat rate that doesn't beat the award for the roster.
- Contractor arrangements that look like employment — owner-drivers who are really employees.
What to do if your pay looks wrong
Match your payslip to your classification in the agreement (or the award tables above), and price any gap with our back-pay calculator. Raise it in writing with payroll or your manager first — most underpayments are fixed at that step. Unresolved, the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) recovers underpayments at no cost, up to six years back, and your union can run the claim for you. Not sure which instrument covers you? Ask our AI advisor with your role and location.
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Official resources
General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.
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Former Fair Work Commission Associate (2021–2024) after two years as a plaintiff-side employment paralegal in Melbourne. Juris Doctor from Monash University (2020). Writes about unfair dismissal, leave entitlements, termination, and enterprise bargaining. Admitted in Victoria, currently non-practising. Based in Fitzroy North.